Advanced Business Planning with Julia ShanksFebruary 25, 2018Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
30 Federal Street, Brunswick, Maine
$100 per person; $135 for two people coming from the same farm.

This full-day workshop is designed to help established and beginning farmers understand the financials of their business and learn how to make informed decisions to increase profits. It is best suited for those with at least one year of farming or similar experience. The goals of the workshop are to plan for profit, examine YOUR farm enterprises, better understand financial statements and learn about recordkeeping.

Chemicals Leach From PackagingChemical & Engineering News - 8/31/2009.Plastic, rubber, cardboard, metal, and glass packaging act as a barrier against all sorts of contamination, but they are also a source of contamination. Speak with anyone who produces, studies, or regulates packaging, and you will hear this point repeated: It is not a question of whether packaging components will leach into a product, it’s a question of how much.

Top USDA official gets serious about local/regional food systemsGrist - 8/28/2009.By Tom Philpott – With the climate bill gutted by Big Ag and stalled in the Senate, with health-care reform on the verge of collapse, prospects for real change in national politics are looking grim. Well, here’s some hope from what’s traditionally one of the executive branch’s most retrograde agencies: the USDA.

Migrant aid experience opens eyesBangor Daily News - 8/28/2009.By Meg Adams – I expected that my time spent assisting Sue, a nurse practitioner serving migrant camps in rural Maryland, would be an eye-opening experience. I expected to see men and women who lived in poor conditions. I expected to see laborers with unmet medical needs. But I did not expect to get so attached to our patients — or for one of our patients to be shot and killed before the week was through.

Augusta Civic Center. MOFGA offers free presentations and discussions, open to the public, on sustainable agriculture. Schedule here. No pre-registration required. MOFGA also has an information exhibit all three days of the show. Staff and committee members are available to answer questions about our ongoing programs. MOFGA members are encouraged to attend the association's annual meeting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 9.

4 sessions, Jan. 16 to Feb 6. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Smith's Smokehouse, Monroe, Maine. Join Andy Smith of Smith's Smokehouse and delve into the basics of charcuterie through a series of four workshops. Learn how to create your own charcuterie goods, and potential business, and then dig deep into a variety of curing processes including bacon, bresaola, beef jerky and more! Don't forget to register for this course, we only have 10 spots available. The complete series is $350 for MOFGA members and $400 for non-members. Each session will take place at Smith's Smokehouse; bring your own lunch. If you have any questions, email Anna Mueller at events@mofga.org. Details and registration.

(Snow date: Feb. 12) Belfast, Maine. Maine Farm to Institution (MEFTI) and the Maine Farm to School Network (MFSN) and their many partners are pleased to announce the first Maine Farm to Institution Summit. Registration and information: https://www.mainefarmtoinstitution.org/about-the-summit/

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by Coastal Enterprises Inc., 30 Federal St., Brunswick, Maine. Full-day workshop designed to help established and beginning farmers understand the financials of their business and learn how to make informed decisions to increase profits. Instructor Julia Shanks is the author of "The Farmer's Office: Tools, Tips and Templates to Successfully Manage a Growing Farm Business." $100 per person; $135 for two people coming from the same farm. Scholarships available. Information and registration.